Common Core tests v. 2.0 arrive in Fayette

Wed, 06/11/2014 - 11:18amBen Nelms

Two familiar mainstay tests used by Georgia schools are about to pass into history. The Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) and the End of Course Tests (EOCT) will be replaced next school year with the Georgia Milestones Assessment System, also aligned to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards.

Ga. Dept. of Education spokesman Matt Cardoza said school systems across the state will implement the new Georgia Milestones testing system during the 2014-2015 academic year. The new system will replace both the CRCT and EOCT.

“Georgia Milestones will be aligned to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) and will require more from students than the CRCT and EOCT it replaces, in order to better prepare students for college and career and to provide a more realistic picture of academic progress,” Cardoza said. “A major benefit of the new system is that it is one consistent testing program across grades 3-12, whereas previously students took a series of individual tests.”

State School Superintendent John Barge cautioned that the increased expectations for student learning reflected in Georgia Milestones may mean initially lower scores than the previous years’ CRCT or EOCT scores. That is to be expected and should bring Georgia’s tests in line with other indicators of how our students are performing, he said.

“We need to know that students are being prepared, not at a minimum-competency level but with rigorous, relevant education to enter college, the workforce or the military at a level that makes them competitive with students from other states,” Dr. Barge said.

Fayette County Superintendent Jody Barrow agreed, noting the expectation that Georgia Milestones will be more rigorous and that some schools statewide may see a significant decline in pass rates. As for Fayette schools, Barrow said, “Compared to the rest, I think we’ll continue to see Fayette in the top 10-20 percentile range. I think as we get more in-tune with the target we’ll be able to hit it.”

Cardoza said the new testing system will include open-ended questions to better gauge students’ content mastery. With some exceptions for special education students with specific testing accommodations, Georgia Milestones will be administered entirely online by the fifth year of implementation, compared to 35 percent online administration of the EOCT in 2013-2014.

The state on May 28 awarded a five-year, $107.8 million contract to CTB/McGraw-Hill to develop the new testing system, Cardoza said.

Comments

Unbelievable. Over $100 million dollars to administer a test that won't improve anything. Great job Georgia government. Our education system is a joke. Common Core is a joke. Thank God we can still homeschool.

2 years of Lois Lerner's e-mails have been lost due to a computer glitch - like the Rosemary Woods 17 minute glitch back when they didn't have computers or computer glitches. Some of Lois' e-mails that were lost went to the White House. Hmmmmm.

Who do you think Lois was e-mailing at the White House other than Valerie Jarrett? And who else got the bright idea to target tea party groups? Occom's razor.

I think Prezbo may be going down to 20% approval rating pretty soon. I know, I'm a racist. Whatever.

Interesting. Lost Bush records? Lois Lerners emails? I guess that they may have gone the same way any corrupt/mysterious 'evidence' disappears throughout history. What intrigues me is your obsession with Valerie Jarrett. Please keep posting. Maybe someone who reads your contributions will be able to figure you out.

does not improve education . It is the curriculum, teaching expertise, parent involvement, and community involvement and expectation that makes the difference! What educators are finding is not all home-schooled students are doing well. Parents who home-school must be consistent, creative, and involved. Those who are are very successful. The 'test' is not the teacher - it is the evaluation of 'the teaching'.

It is informative to read this article and the state of public education in Georgia. Common Core sets standards for all states. It does not dictate the curriculum or strategies to be implemented in reaching these standards. The Core standards are for every American child to be exposed to the same basic standards regardless of what state they live in. Local districts, boards, counties still have input/control regarding curriculum and strategies for teaching children.

Fayette County high schools have all met the current standard ?__ and are recognized for exceeding the ?__standard?__. The testing under Common Core may be more rigorus ?__ read the article to see if you agree. As we all know, all schools (public) in Georgia do not have the same level of expectation as the schools in Fayette County. Parent involvement, excellent teachers and community expectations determine the quality of a good public school.

From the article:

<cite>A recent Education Next article examining the rigor of states?__ cut scores, or thresholds for determining proficiency on assessments, finds that Georgia has the lowest cut scores of any state in the nation on its 4th and 8th grade mathematics and reading assessments. Written by Harvard professor Paul Peterson and student Peter Kaplan, the analysis compares the percentage of students each state identified as ?__proficient?_? on 2011 state-developed assessments of mathematics and reading with the percentage of students identified as proficient on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for mathematics and reading. The NAEP is a biannual assessment given to a representative sample of 4th and 8th grade students in each state.[2]</cite>

<cite>Georgia received an ?__F?_? and is ranked last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, meaning Georgia sets low expectations for proficient performance on the CRCT. Alabama was the only other ?__F?_? state.[3] Tennessee jumped from an ?__F?_? in 2009 to an ?__A?_? in 2011 by increasing the rigor of the cut scores on its standardized assessments.</cite>

What Common Core MAY do - is raise the expectations of standard concepts that all American students should be exposed to. Other industrialized countries are far ahead of us in educating their students for the rigors of tomorrow,